Taking you to the exotic African wild!
Morning Star Tours & Travel
- Located In:
- Size:
- 20-50 employees (Founded in 2018)
- Member Of:
- IATA, KATO, AMREF & TOSK
- Tour Types:
- Custom mid-range & luxury tours that can start every day
- Destinations:
- Price Range:
- $134 to $806 per person per day (USD, excl. int'l flights)
Reviews
Nice person , patient and helpful
The trip went very smoothly, Jackson. We solved a lot of problems, and we hope to come again next time.
CN
Email Floria | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Super nice
Nice guide who really love the animals. Did have a good time with him
CN
Email WEI | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Jackson was an exceptional safari guide and a truly good-hearted person. He was incredibly dedicated
Jackson was an exceptional safari guide and a truly good-hearted person. He was incredibly dedicated, responsible, and professional throughout our entire trip. His love and respect for wildlife were obvious in everything he did, and he always showed great care for the animals. He also completed every activity on our itinerary to a very high standard—game drives, transfers, and all scheduled experiences were handled smoothly and professionally. Thanks to Jackson, our safari was safe, informative, and unforgettable. We highly recommend him to anyone looking for a conscientious and caring guide.
The travel agency also communicated very well with us throughout the process.
The only areas we hope Morning Star can improve are: conducting thorough vehicle checks before departure to avoid possible breakdowns, and providing better cooling and sun protection inside the vehicle in the future to enhance the overall travel experience. These improvements would make the trip even better.
Email Lucy | 20-35 years of age | Experience level: 2-5 safaris
An amazing safari, great guide and staff!
The booking process was very smooth and easy, and Alice was very responsive and not pushy. They were able to create an itinerary based on what ur experience wants and needs, including a drop off in Watamu at the end of the safari.
We appreciated being given choices (accommodation, parks, itinerary/activities).
Our driver Willy was great from start to finish! He really made our trip special, and we thoroughly enjoyed spending the week with him and learning from him! He is clearly very passionate and knowledgeable about wildlife. We were able to see everything we wanted to see with him. He was also very supportive when I got food poisoning halfway through the trip.
All of the accommodations were great and we loved all of the national parks.
We couldn’t recommend Morning Star enough!! Very highly recommend.
AE
Email Ben | 50-65 years of age | Experience level: first safari
Great, friendly service, well-organised and lots of communication, wonderful experience.
Our trip was really well organised from start to finish. Our guide, Augustin, was highly knowledgeable and very attentive. The Zebra Camp was amazing with lovely rooms and chilled atmosphere. The vehicle was ideal for the trip and we loved seeing all the animals up close. It was an unforgettable experience.
CA
Email Sandee Thomas | 65+ years of age | Experience level: first safari
Morningstar Tours was amazing.
It took us about a year to plan our safari vacation. The most difficult part was selecting a tour operator from the hundreds available. Ultimately we chose Morningstar Tours as it had a Kenya/Tanzania safari that was very appealing (length of time, places we wanted to visit and the things we wanted to do).
1. We were very fortunate to have Alice Moraa as our agent/co-ordinator. She readily answered all of our questions, addressed our concerns, provided pertinent information with regard to visas, what to pack etc., provided us with a detailed itinerary so we knew where we would be and what we would be doing and a timeline, made suggestions and most importantly, we were able to communicate with her 24/7 and her response time was very quick. As we arrived a few days prior to the start of our safari, Alice recommended visiting the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (elephant orphanage), The Giraffe Centre and dining at The Carnivore Restaurant. She made all the arrangements and we enjoyed that day immensely. 2. It is extremely important to have a good driver/guide. In Kenya, we had Augustine. He was so friendly, helpful and accommodating and had a good sense of humour. His English was good and we learned SO much from him about the animals, terrain, history and culture. His driving skills were very impressive! Augustine just seemed to sense where the animals would be and without binoculars, he could spot a camouflaged lion or cheetah that was over 100 metres away. His eyesight is incredible! As we drove by The Great Rift Valley on narrow 2 lane highway, we found ourselves stuck in a massive traffic jam with dozens of transport trucks backed up for kilometres. I thought we’d be stuck there for hours. Somehow, with inches to spare on either side of our jeep, Augustine managed to maneuver around vehicles and we were able to take a side dirt road through a tiny village. A few other jeeps followed. Anyway, the inhabitants were displeased with the amount of dirt stirred up and blocked the road with boulders. Augustine, being very diplomatic, negotiated a payment agreement with them and they removed the blockade and let us pass. That was an interesting situation. When we were flying back to Nairobi from Amboseli, our flight departure time was changed at the last minute and Augustine had barely an hour to get us to the airport from our camp. The drive was at least an hour away on very bumpy dirt roads but once again, Augustine came through and got us to the airport in 40 minutes! Request Augustine as your driver in Kenya. 3. in Tanzania we had Tony who was also a very good guide/driver. 4. Accommodations: we stayed at the Argyle Grand Hotel in Nairobi for 3 nights prior to our safari and 1 night after our safari ended. We liked the fact that the hotel was only 10 minutes from the airport. We enjoyed their buffet restaurant, and the rooms were nice. We were very pleased with our “glamping” accommodations . We stayed at Lake Nakuru Lodge, Pride Inn Mara Camp, Untamed Migration Camp, Ngorongoro Tortilis Camp and Kibo Safari Camp. Each camp was unique, clean and well-equipped and the staff was warm, welcoming and helpful. The food and box lunches were good. I loved how each camp’s staff was so proud of their camp and were sincerely honoured that we had chosen to stay at their camp. 4. We found the jeeps to be very comfortable (we were just 2 couples and the driver/guide). We never realized how rough and bumpy the roads were and how dusty it could be. It was fun, like being on a ride. The jeeps take an incredible amount of abuse but are checked after each safari. That being said, we did experience some issues. On one occasion, Ephraim (Tanzania) experienced difficulty starting the jeep. We contacted Alice and voiced our concerns as we didn’t want to get stranded somewhere. She immediately made arrangements for us to have a new driver/guide and jeep. On another occasion, as we were witnessing the wildebeest migration across the Mara River), we got a flat tire. Within minutes, several other guide/drivers stopped to offer assistance. It was truly heart-warming to see how the guides have this culture of helping each other. Also, one day Augustine had to stop to let the radiator cool down so he could add water to it. None of these incidences spoiled our game drives as we just embraced it as part of our African adventures. We would recommend that Morningstar consider purchasing a few newer (2020 or newer) jeeps to add to their fleets to mitigate these issues. In one jeep, the charging ports didn’t always work and we found the windows were a little sticky, a little hard to slide or roll up and down (because of the dust in the tracks?). 5. A safari may not be for you if you suffer from motion sickness, are unable to handle being in a jeep for several hours a day (we usually went on 2 game drives each day and were on the move from park to park so we spent 8-10 hours a day in the jeep), unlike some people who have a hotel as a
home base and just venture out once a day for a 3-4 hour game drive), or have bladder issues. Our drivers stopped every couple of hours so we could have a break. 6. We experienced perfect weather, no rain and 24C-30C temperatures during the day, we wore shorts every day and didn’t need to use insect repellant or use the mosquito net at night while sleeping. 6. We only needed money for tipping, drinks, and for any souvenirs we wished to purchase as everything else was prepaid. We always had lots of bottled water in our jeep so no need to bring a water bottle. I would recommend that you bring binoculars, a power bank to charge your phone and make sure you have an outlet adapter. We bought headlamps but didn’t need them as the camps are well lit and the staff escort you at night (if you’re in an unfenced camp like we were). 7. We visited Nairobi, Nairobi Nat’l Park, Lake Naivasha & Crescent Island (highly recommend), Lake Nakuru, Masai Mara (the migration), Northern and Central Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater (it’s actually a caldera) and Amboseli. 8. I would also
recommend that you fly from national park to national park as it takes a long time to drive a short distance. The drive from Central Serengeti to Ngorongoro Crater was particularly long (roads are really, really
bad). We did fly from Amboseli back to Nairobi (40 min flight versus a 6-7 hour drive). Overall: We were happy with Morningstar and impressed with Alice Moraa and Augustine’s services. We got to see all The Big Five several times and saw SO many animals very close up. We were a little disappointed with Ngorongoro. Visiting a caldera is very cool and interesting but we didn’t see as many animals there and they were usually far away. The other parks were fantastic though. A safari is truly a unique and nice in a lifetime experience which is worth every penny. Visiting a zoo is now going to be very under-whelming. 😝 To witness animals roaming freely in their natural habitats is nothing short of amazing!
